A Pre-Trip Haiku

To the beach I go

Sand, wind, seagull, salt spray, happy

Will I make it back?

Grease...and Greasier?

Date: June 26, 2009

Time: 10:14pm

On TV: Grease

On TV after that: Grease 2

Is it sad that I'm sitting at home, with the dog, watching Grease and possibly Grease 2 if I stay up that late? Some might say yes. I say - lay off me bitch, cuz I LOVE these two movies! So - HA!

Who doesn't like Grease? John, Olivia and Stockard? HELLO!

I believe that the protocol for the Grease Fan is to hate Grease 2, but I just can't help it. A young Michelle Pfeiffer - she is still one of my favorites. And who doesn't just love Maxwell Caulfield? Periodically he will show up in a movie and I think - oh, Michael Carrington, the "Cool Rider" LOL!

Anyway - I'm singing along to both. All parts! Happy Friday!!

Innocence by Kathleen Tessaro

I just finished this book. When I bought it, I thought it may be a bit of fluff....it didn't seem too deep, and the tag line was "Love. The greatest temptation of all." BUT - I have learned: Don't judge a book by it's cover.

Within 3 days time, I have finished this book. This is not really off the mark for me, I tend to read fast. I guess what I liked was all the places to book went in that amount of time and in 371 pages. The book follows three American girls who live in London and are in acting school. All is well for them until "love" enters the picture for one of the girls.

Now, this may sound like a sappy, stupid love story, but the description in the jacket doesn't give justice to the story. It's not just love, but the kind of love. It's not just girls' friendship, but the kinds of friendship. It's about paths chosen, lives lived, and what happens when your dead friend comes back to call you on it - and has a secret of her own.

Through series of time jumps - past, present, past, present again - the author takes Evie, Robbie and Imogene (mostly Evie & Robbie), who they think they are, and are they really just THAT? Or are they living with the ramifications of dreams deferred...or dreams they really didn't want in the first place?

While an easy read and not a "classic", I found that I was presently surprised by Innocence. It wasn't fluff. I loved the characters. And, as a gal who grew up in the 80's - I LOVE the references to the pop culture of the time. References to plays, sonnets, poems, and concertos appear throughout...and I'm sure if I knew the references well, I would draw even more meaning from the pages.

Side note: Late last night, or really early this morning, as I was finishing up, it hit me! The date was June 21, 2009. Huh, interesting. In the book, Part One is: February 1986. Part Two is: June 21, 1991. Part Three is: June 21, 1996. June 21st is a major date in the book. How is it I managed to pick a random book, in the clearance shelf, and read it just in time to coincide with the main date of the book? Woooo, trippy....

My Protective Force Field

I need a protective force field.

I take on others stuff - troubles, angst, problems, emotions, etc. I actually feel what they feel...and, who knows where I learned this (well, I know but let's not go into it), I like to try and fix it. And, when it doesn't get fixed, it causes me more angst etc. Sometimes a little more than it is causes the actual person.

Shoot, I feel angst when just pondering the state of the planet. I haven't seen "An Inconvenient Truth" because I just can't handle it. I stop reading when I see the headline "Giant Ice Shelf Cracks Off Antarctica". I was given the book and I haven't even cracked it open.

So just imagine when the problem is tied to a loved family member or friend...especially those with the chronic type of issues. I can't just close the book or change the channel with them.

So, I am trying to LET IT GO! My sister has a new phrase these days:

"Let go or be dragged"

I like that...like it a lot.

I have to constantly remind myself that letting go of other people problems is not being a bad friend, sister, wife, daughter. I can care, empathise, show concern, listen to their venting, and I don't have to solve it. They are adults and have their own path. I sometimes feel that if I put all the energy I expend on worrying about other people back on myself - I might actually accomplish some goals I have set for myself.


Even as I type, I feel guilty. Wondering what some of my friends will think when they read this. Will they judge me?

When will THAT feeling go away? Hey, I'm a work in progress. Rome wasn't built in a day, right? First of all, guilt is for when you do something WRONG. Second, if my friends are mad nbecause I am trying to give up my co-dependent ways and take care of myself...then maybe they aren't my friends after all. Hmm....

As I pondered all this, I found these images that illustrate what I'm feeling. Maybe I can use them as visualizations when I need that extra support.
And, they are kinda funny. :-)

Too Salty - Makes Me Crabby.

So, I spent an hour on the Internet tonight looking for crab cake recipe that seemed doable and didn't require a trip to the store. AND - would work with canned crab meat..which might have been my downfall.

I know - CANNED crab meat! WHAT COULD I BE THINKING?! Well, I will tell you - it's cheaper and I thought I would give it a try. So - lets just let that go and I will tell you what happened.

I spent the time making the cakes, chilling them for an hour, cooking them until a beautiful golden brown. I made a salad and created a dressing of honey mustard, paprika, garlic and grape seed oil and a glass of strawberry lemonade ( I don't like lemonade, but that's a whole other blog about my dislike of water.) I sit down at the table, take a bite and it hits me - SUPER SONIC SALTY SUCKYNESS! What happened? What little troll came along and dumped a bucket of NaCl in my crab cakes? DAMN DAMN DAMN!

So, I just have to vent. Because I don't like salt. I don't crave salty things, I pick the salt off my pretzels, and a visit to the Great Salt Lake is not on my "bucket list" (ironically, I love the ocean...but whatever). I once had an encounter with the salty black licorice they sell at IKEA that ended with my head in the sink and my sister laughing so hard I though she was going to pee. Not funny.

Oh - the one time when salt is good? When the saltine its on is covered in chocolate icing.

Maybe I need to read "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky. Undoubtedly it will give me a genuine appreciation for my nemesis. And, I do have to admit, I am intrigued by the array of salts offered at Uwajimaya. Grey salt. Red salt. Pink salt. Brown salt. You get the picture

GA: Even Better When You Do a Handstand!

Head With Fruit Basket

The Gardner

The Cook

Self-explanatory.

GA: Water, Fire, Flora, Air & a Grotesque Head

Water Fire Flora Air Grotesque Head

Out of these three the water is my favorite I think. I look at it and think "slimy and cold". It sends me in all directions..."What if my face was like that? What would that feel like? Would I drip salt water all over the place? Are the pieces alive?! But, hey, life is good - I have a very nice Jackie O-esque pearl necklace!"

Art should the the impetus for thought.....right? :-)

I also admire that GA still shows emotion in the faces and especially the eyes...

Guiseppe Arcimboldo: Self Portrait

Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526-1593)Self-portrait in paper (Man of Letters)Pen and ink on paper - 44,2 x 31,8 cmGenoa, Musei di Strada Nuova,Palazzo Rosso, Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe

Behold the artist responsible for making faces out of grains, fruit, vegetables, fish, birds and meat!

Notice he didn't exclude himself in the process - the first self portrait is himself made from paper.

His line drawings are fantastic and I particularly like second self portrait. The eyes are deep and hold emotion, the crooked nose....

Hi G!

One of My Favorites: Guiseppe Arcimboldo

Winter

Autumn

Summer

Spring

The Four Seasons
Guiseppe Arcimboldo, 1527 -1593, Mannerist artist.

I found the work of this artist while in my college art history class. I think many people have seen these works, but they never cease to amaze me. Especially when considering the years he was alive - this was not the typical art being produced.

Arcimboldo was born in Milan Italy to a father who was a stained glass artist for the church. At 22 Guiseppe took over his fathers position and produced stained glass for two cathedrals in Milan.

After this he became a court artist for Kings and Emperors in Vienna and Prague. While working under royalty, he not only painted his Mannerist work, or his "composite heads", but he was a stage and costume designer for the royal pageants and parades. He left a 150 page red leather bound sketch book to the Emperor..I will have to find some of his line drawings to post.

Guiseppe was a very famous artist during his day, but after his death was quickly forgotten. Not many of his works remain - most rotted away in a moldy closet for 300 years before being discovered.

The series of seasons above are some of his most well known paintings. I think they are fun and crazy and absolutely beautiful! Some royalty actually posed for him.

World Have Your Say.....My Groupie Moment

Broadcasting from Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland Oregon

The Portland audience taking it in and participating.

Ros moderating the show.

The show happening...live!

Ros & Me!

I dig OPB, NPR, PRI and all those other public radio organizations that bring us good programming, news and events from around the world. I find they offer different perspectives than we see here in the states and are generally are very interesting.

One show that I particularly LOVE Is World Have Your Say. Now, if your not familiar with WHYS, let me describe it to you. WHYS is a radio call in show that is broadcast around the world. The listeners email in all sorts of topic ideas and are the ones who pick the topic for the day. Whatever idea/current event/question submitted the most, or seems to be on everyones mind, wins out. After that, Ros Atkins and a host of other moderators engage callers, emailer, twitterers, bloggers, and audience participants in a discussion of the topic and encourage them to talk to each other. Believe it or not - a bulk of their commenters on the show are from Oregon! Interestingly, their listenership is skyrocketing in the US. Sweet.....! WHYS also has a blog that people post to about the topic and the comments don't stop at the end of the show. Check it out!

WHYS was in Portland this week for a news radio conference, YIPPY!! I didn't know they were coming (how did I miss that) until I heard them from Pioneer Square....I was actually working all the way across town and was right next to my next job. So what do I do? I drive all the way to downtown to catch the last 1/2 hour and then drive all the way back across town for my next job. Hey, sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. That was on Tuesday. The bonus for that day was that after the hour, they announced they would do another hour that was only being broadcast in Africa..so I stayed for that! (no, I wasn't late to my next gig.) Check out Africa Have Your Say.

Seeing the show in real time was fascinating. It's like perfectly timed chaos. Ros pointing at who gets to speak next and fielding the callers and invited guests, assistants passing out emails/tweets/blogs to read on air. Other audience members announcing the email address/phone number for the show. Microphone people running around so comments can be heard. WOW!

On Tuesday I learned the would broadcast from a pancake house in The Dalles on Wednesday (I have hear them broadcast from a persons bedroom before), a hotel on Thursday, and back at Pioneer Square on Friday. I was so there on Friday!

Fridays crowd was bigger than Tuesday, and while on Tuesday people seemed to come and go more. Friday - the crowd stayed. In all about 100 people were standing and sitting around as we talked about "Do You Believe in Fate?" with each other and callers from the Philippines, England, Africa, etc. One bummer was that I didn't get a pair of headphones..I kept waiting for someone to leave so I could take theirs, but it didn't happen. They finally turned on a speaker so those without headphones could hear.

In the end, I got to meet Ros and tell him how much I love the show. We talked a bit about who listens to the show and how its amazing that even though in the states we have tons of media we can access, the listenership from the US in through the roof. According to him we are seriously bucking the trend! Many of the other listeners come from countries that have limited media coverage -Nigeria for example. The number of South African listeners has decreased since the fall of Apartheid, due to expanded media services. India is falling a bit because media is improving also. Those are just the general trends. WHYS still has a huge following around the globe. Ros was a pleasure to talk to and even let me take a photo with him. (Thanks JG for taking the pic!) Great guy! The whole WHYS team was great actually.

If you get a chance - listen to them....you might like it!

What To Do....What To Do?

I want to change the look of my blog. I'm not sure I like the templates. Hmmm.......

Roller Skating

Picture to the left by Holly Leitner

I announced to Rex the other day, " I am going to find a pair of roller skates! Then I can skate around the neighborhood!"

His response: "Your going to fall and hurt your shoulder." This comes from his ongoing concern over my bum shoulder, and the fact that all the stuff I want to try could really damage said shoulder -- IF, I fall.

So, what do I say: "I won't fall."

I am bound and determined to find myself some skates! In my head, they have sparkly wheels - but, hey, I'll take what I can get. An authentic pair of Skate World rental skates would be FANTASTIC! But, I doubt those will come along. In the mean time, my sister found a white pair with blue wheels at an estate sale down the street. A size 8. Half a size to big for me and half a size to small for her. We'll see who they fit the best.....

I have fun memories of roller skating as a kid. For those of you who grew up around here, you might remember Beaverton Skate...currently the New Seasons next to what we used to call Beaverton Mall. Now its Cedar Hills Crossing..I think. Aging myself here....although I CAN say I wasn't born when the mall was an airport. So there! I actually remember learning to skate there...and have better memories of learning to roller skate that I do of learning to ride my bike.

Or how about Skate World in Hillsboro!! It's still there and I really wonder how much action they see. There was nothing like the rust and blue motif they had going on. I was there SOOO MUCH. I still wish I had really learned to skate backwards. And, gotten skilled enough to do the "speed skate". Ok, maybe not. I remember the ambulance being summoned more that once during "speed skate".

So, anyway. I'll try not to bust anything. Pads may be helpful, eh?